Tuesday, July 21, 2009

For a fashion model who has spent years in the industry,Kohinoor Singh becoming a make-up artist, or photographer would hardly be out-of-this-world.Becoming a monk however is a completely different cosmic matter.

In a move that gave rise to a combination of shock, dismay, disbelief and admiration in Nepal, one of the Himalayan country's top models, Kohinoor Singh, recently decided to shave her head, discard her make-up, and adorn the drab garb of a Buddhist monk.

Gone is the life of catwalks, photo shoots, sexy bikinis, and glamour-what remains behind is an 'Ani'(monk) smiling pleasantly at the thought of the future.

"For me there are no changes at all, because I have always been like this," she declared recently in an interview on Cybersansar.com, a Nepali website.

"People notice this sudden transition because they have always portrayed me according to my outer looks."

Kohinoor as Ani Lhosang Dolma Kohinoor Singh, now Ani Lhosang Dolma, carved out a name for her self in the small but quickly growing modelling world of Nepal since she was 15 years old with her catwalk shows, brand endorsing ads, TV show hosting and music video hits.

She particularly shot into prominence through her music videos made by Music Nepal .

In 2002 she was credited with giving Cybernepal.com, a major Nepali site for the local cinema and the music industry, a major fillip to its rating.

"After we put the blow ups of Kohinoor Singh," said Abhinav Kasaju founder of the site, "the number of visitors to the site doubled."

"Kohinoor is sensational. She's a unique blend of innocence and sexuality, "declared the Kathmandu Post who rated her one of the "Top 5 models in Nepal " in February this year.

But that has now all changed, overnight. "To be peaceful and happy," she continues, "one needs to be content with whatever one has and I am following this passage."

It was a dream long since planted in her mind ever since as a little girl she encountered a woman monk always calm and smiling in a Swayambu (temple mound)..

A strong spiritual experience in that very same Swayambu years later, some deep soul searching, and Ani was born. "I am ready to cope with anything now, even hunger and thirst. I believe it is desire that leads to expectations and eventually chaos."

In a nation where Buddhism was born, it won't be long then, that from being admired on stage, Ani will be elevated to a young guru of sorts. For now she has broken several hearts and extracted many a sigh even though, as one fan puts it, she has moved from being "a pretty model to one beautiful nun!"